Steinway is 'key' to UA luncheon series

America's finest piano manufacturer is "key" to the upcoming 2012 Cathryn Carroll Taliaferro Lecture Series, presented by the Women's Committee of The University of Akron.

Jazz pianist Joe Augustine, an artist-in-residence at at the School of Music, will perform and be the featured speaker for the Oct. 24 event.

"Celebrating Music Through the Steinway Story" features three luncheon programs that are open to the public. Each program includes lunch and a presentation by a Steinway & Sons representative. Advance registration is required. The cost is $25 for each program or $65 for the series. Proceeds benefit scholarships and projects of the UA Women's Committee.

The series opens with "The Steinways and Their Daughters" on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 11:30 a.m. in Martin University Center, 105 Fir Hill, on the UA campus. Sally Coveleskie, national director of institutional sales for Steinway & Sons, will speak about the contributions made by women to the Steinway company since its founding 159 years ago in Manhattan by Henry Engelhard Steinway and his sons.

Artist-in-residence in good company

The second event in the series features Steinway discussion and entertainment from the musical perspective. On Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 11:30 a.m. in Guzzetta Hall, jazz pianist Joe Augustine will perform and be the featured speaker. Augustine is a member of the acclaimed and historic Steinway Artists Roster that began in 1867 and includes such famed pianists as Irving Berlin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Diana Krall and Cole Porter. Augustine is also an artist-in-residence for the UA School of Music. Free transportation between the Martin Center and Guzzetta Hall will be provided by UA's Roo Express.

The series concludes Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 11:30 a.m. in the Martin Center with "The Shared Story of Ohio and Steinway” by Ted Good, president and founder of Steinway Hall-Akron. Good will focus on the connections and interactions between the Steinway company and Ohio, including some of the company's unique manufacturing techniques. After the program, guests are invited to tour the historic Steinway Hall-Akron and continue the conversation.

UA seeks All-Steinway designation

The UA Women's Committee selected the Steinway theme for its 2012 series to coincide with the organization's gift of a new piano to the UA School of Music. The gift is part of the school's All-Steinway Piano Campaign, which seeks to purchase Steinway and Steinway-manufactured Boston pianos to replace most of the 83 pianos used daily by students. By successfully completing the campaign, the UA School of Music will join the ranks of schools throughout the world that have achieved the prestigious designation of being All-Steinway Schools. Among them are Julliard, Oberlin, Carnegie Mellon and Yale.

For more information, contact Cyndee Snider at 330-972-5196 or cyndee@uakron.edu. To register, mail a check payable to the UA Women's Committee to Tomasina Elavsky, 5006 Pamela Drive, Akron, OH 44319.